Report details great lengths EPA goes to shield Scott Pruitt

At a time when leaks have plagued the Trump administration, the New York Times reports that access to Scott Pruitt has been somewhat of a challenge as doors to the floor on which he works at the EPA headquarters in Washington, D.C. are frequently locked, and people need an escort to reach him. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Cell phones and note-taking are sometimes forbidden during meetings with Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, according to a report Friday.

At a time when leaks have plagued the Trump administration, the New York Times reports that access to Pruitt has been somewhat of a challenge as doors to the floor on which he works at the EPA headquarters in Washington, D.C. are frequently locked, and people need an escort to reach him.

When people do meet with Pruitt, they are sometimes told to leave their cellphones behind, and are also told in some cases not to take notes.

Pruitt, whose controversial agenda includes rolling back several Obama-era policies, also doesn't make use of his office phone for important calls. Instead, he opts to do so in other offices, the report said, citing unnamed EPA sources.

Liz Bowman, a spokeswoman for the EPA, denied all the anonymous accounts by agency employees. "None of this is true," she said. "It's all rumors."

"It's very disappointing, yet not surprising, to learn that you would solicit leaks, and collude with union officials in an effort to distract from the work we are doing to implement the president's agenda," she told the Times.